The Other Way Around
by Skye Ryde
Summary: What if Miley was Jackson's older sister? What if Jackson was best friends with Lilly and Oliver? What if Miley had a crush on Jackson's best friend? What if Miley already had someone else? Liley.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Hannah Montana, or anything related.

* * *

Miley pressed her fingertips to her temples, trying to block out the sound of the blaring television from her spot at the kitchen counter. She looked at the assortment of open books occupying a majority of the black granite surface, and then at her laptop, where she was taunted with an opening paragraph and nothing more.

Whirling around on her chair, Miley clenched her jaw and said, "Can you lower the volume? I'm trying to write a paper."

Her request was met with three blank stares. Exhaling through gritted teeth, Miley glared at Jackson, gesturing at the television with her eyes. "Please," she stated as an afterthought, with a forced smile plastered to her face. Maybe if she could pass as polite, her younger brother might actually concede.

The blonde girl at the far end of the couch began reaching for the remote on the coffee table in front of them. "Sure." Lilly's eyes landed on Miley and smiled as she blindly groped for the remote. However, Jackson quickly snatched it off the table.

"Dad told you not to wait 'til last minute to do your homework," Jackson said smugly.

Too distracted by her heart thumping rapidly in her chest, it took Miley a moment to register what he had said. She tore her gaze away from Lilly, who was glancing between the remote Jackson sported like a trophy in his hand, and the table, her eyebrows furrowed adorably.

"My paper isn't due 'til next Wednesday," she said sweetly, raising her shoulders and fluttering her eyelids.

Jackson's smirk faded just a tick. "Why're you doing your homework down here, anyway?" He glanced at Oliver and Lilly. "You always do it up in your room."

"Oh, please, like you actually care." Climbing off the chair, Miley stalked forward, and snatched the remote from his hand.

"Hey!" he protested, clambering over the armrest, in an attempt to retrieve the power of the remote control. However, Miley had already lowered the volume to a more appropriate setting and was ripping the back latch open. She removed the two batteries inside and shoved them in her jacket pocket.

Miley took an exaggerated deep breath and her eyes fluttered shut, as though she were savoring the new lack of sound and easy victory against the younger boy. Jackson glared as she dropped the remote onto the vacated couch square. "Don't bring me down with you when you're seventeen and need a hearing aid," she said as she walked backwards towards the kitchen counter.

"What makes you think I won't just raise the volume on the tv?" he asked, ignoring her previous statement.

Oliver and Lilly simply ignored their sibling argument and turned their attention back towards the old action movie they were watching. Every now and then, Lilly would glance over at Miley, but then quickly look away when she saw the older brunette doing the same thing. Miley could not ignore the light feeling in her chest every time this happened. Thankfully, it did not inhibit her ability to win a fight with her dense younger brother.

"Because I'm the one who drives you to school every morning." It was clear Jackson caught the subtle threat in her voice. Not only did Miley drive him to school every morning, but her dad also made her drive him all over town. If Jackson wanted to hang out with Oliver and Lilly at the mall, she always had to drive him and then pick him up. Frequently, Miley would have to drop her own plans, or push them back to bend around Jackson's schedule. She never grew used to it; quite the opposite actually, the more it happened, the more irritated she was, especially since he never even thanked her. Why should she have to put her life on standstill for her ungrateful, inconsiderate little brother. Often times, Miley wished _she_ was the youngest of the pair; maybe then Jackson would know what it felt like to be a personal chauffeur.

The more Miley toyed with the idea of what if she had been the younger sister, the more she wondered if life would have been better that way. Would it be _her_ sitting on that couch with Oliver and Lilly? Would it be _her_ who was best friends with Lilly? Would she still feel the same way about the younger blonde as she did now?

Jackson had struck a strong friendship with Lilly the year they moved to Malibu. Miley hadn't really thought much about her then; she had always been Jackson's amusing, skater girl best friend, who she enjoyed spending some of her spare time with between her own friends, school, and Hannah Montana obligations. It was only that past September, when Jackson, Lilly, and Oliver entered their freshman year of high school that Miley finally began to notice her in a different way. However, she did her best to ignore those feelings, even now, nearly three months later. It wasn't because Lilly was a freshman, or Jackson's best friend, or because they were both girls; it was because Miley already had a girlfriend.

Half an hour later, Miley was still sitting at the counter, typing rapidly on her laptop. She was almost half finished with her paper now. To her disappointment, Lilly had followed Jackson and Oliver upstairs shortly after Miley took the batteries from the remote. She found it much easier to concentrate on her assignment, however, with Lilly out of the room. Jackson had spoken the truth earlier when he said Miley always did her homework in her room, but she had brought her homework downstairs when she heard Lilly come over. Of course, that wasn't what she told herself; she repeatedly told herself she was only working downstairs because a change of scenery might help her concentrate better, that Lilly had nothing to do with it.

"Hey, Miley," Lilly greeted, offering a quick smile before burying her head in the freezer, no doubt looking for something to eat. It never ceased to amaze her just how much the blonde could fit into her stomach.

The left corner of Miley's mouth rose into a toothless grin. "Hey," she said smoothly. She allowed herself a quick glance at Lilly's backside before guiltily tearing her eyes away. The brunette always felt awkward whenever she checked out the other girl; maybe because Lilly had no idea she was even doing it. "What're ya'll up to upstairs?" she asked curiously.

Lilly emerged from the freezer holding an ice cream bar in her left hand. "Video games," she answered, grinning at Miley while she unwrapped the ice cream. "But I got hungry."

"You're always hungry. Last night you ate half of my half of pizza," Miley teased. After closing her laptop, she leaned on its surface and crossed her hands.

Lilly stuck out her tongue, and Miley reflexively bit her lip. "You offered." She took a huge bite.

"You went through your share so quickly I thought you were going to attack me for mine. I was only protecting myself from your savagery. You would've come out on top in 'Lord of the Flies,'" she joked. Miley's eyes drifted over the blonde's flowing, loose hair; she always liked it when Lilly wore her hair down.

"Stop watching me eat," Lilly complained, blushing, her mouth full of ice cream.

"Sexy," Miley deadpanned.

Lilly shrugged, still blushing. "I try," she mumbled, her mouth still full. Swallowing forcefully, she yanked open the refrigerator door and retrieved a bottle of water. "So what are you up tonight? It's Friday night, after all…" she trailed off, staring pensively at the label on the bottle. "It's Friday night!" Her eyes glowed, as though this was the first time she had realized this. "Why did Jackson accuse you of doing your homework last minute then?"

"I've got Hannah things all weekend," Miley said. She allowed her eyes to stray towards Lilly's chest for a split second when she leaned down over the counter across from her. The brunette was inwardly thrilled Lilly knew about her Hannah Montana secret. So few people knew about the secret, which made it seem special when she confided with Lilly.

"Are you staying in tonight, then?" Lilly asked.

Eyes narrowing just a tick, Miley wondered if she was just imagining the hopeful flash in the other girl's eyes. However, Lilly's expression remained politely curious, so Miley decided to let it go, feeling somewhat disappointed.

"Sorta." Miley fiddled with the silver ring on her left middle finger. Her eyes darted from Lilly to the clock behind her, and she cleared her throat. "Mikayla's coming over in a little bit," she admitted.

"Oh…"

Miley's head jerked up and she scrutinized the other girl's face. There was no doubt in her mind now; Lilly was clearly disappointed, and, upon further inspection, slightly hurt too. The brunette felt her stomach drop and she desperately wanted to bang her head into a wall. However, a spark of hope still ignited in the middle of her chest.

"I thought you guys broke up…" Lilly trailed off. She was staring hard at the melting ice cream bar in her hand, frowning.

Wetting her lips, Miley awkwardly scratched the back of her head. "We're, uh, we're trying to work things out," she said carefully. She did not miss the frown deepen on Lilly's face. Her heart raced.

Lilly was quiet for a moment; she took a sip of her water. Her eyes were looking everywhere except at Miley. "Didn't she cheat on you?" she finally asked. To the older girl's mild surprise, she sounded angry.

"It doesn't mean she doesn't deserve another chance." Miley carefully measured the expression on the blonde's face. She knew she should stop talking about Mikayla, as it was clearly upsetting Lilly, but this was the perfect opportunity to see if the other girl might feel something more for her than friendship. Miley knew if she had this same conversation with Oliver, he would not even blink an eye.

"Would she give _you_ a second chance if _you_ were the one that cheated?" Lilly asked heatedly. She didn't wait for a response. "No! Miley, you deserve better than that."

Chest swelling, Miley was glad Lilly wasn't looking at her, or else she would have most likely misread the broad smile on her lips. The truth was that Mikayla probably would _not_ have forgiven her if she cheated. Her girlfriend was prone to holding very powerful grudges. However, Miley still clung to the other girl, despite how much she had hurt her. Mikayla was capable of being a great person when she wanted to.

Miley opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by the front door banging open. Extremely irritated at having been interrupted, she spun around in her chair, preparing to rip whoever barged inside without even a knock a new one. Her fire disappeared, however, when she saw Mikayla making her way through the living room. At the same time, Jackson and Oliver were thundering down the stairs.

"Hey, Miles," Mikayla greeted at the same time Jackson said, "C'mon, Lilly, Oliver's mom is taking us out for Chinese."

Warm arms enveloped Miley's torso, and she melted into the body, forgetting Lilly was standing right there. Mikayla pressed her lips into Miley's, giving her a long, slow kiss. "Hey," Miley said dreamily, incoherent from the kiss.

An exaggerated gag sounded from across the room. "That's disgusting, Miles," Jackson complained. He held his hand to his mouth and gagged again. Miley glared at him. "C'mon, Lilly."

Miley's heart dropped to her stomach. She glimpsed the scowl on Lilly's face before she trailed across the living room toward her two best friends, her shoulders slumped. Mikayla pressing their lips together again was not enough to distract her this time. She felt incredibly guilty for upsetting Lilly, but for all she knew, the blonde might just hate Mikayla. Just because she was so passionate about the subject of Mikayla cheating on her, didn't mean Lilly liked her. The middle of chest ached at that thought and she forced herself to get into the kiss.

"Let's go upstairs," Mikayla whispered hotly into her ear. Miley shivered and moaned when she felt the other girl's tongue lick down the rim of her ear before taking the lobe into her mouth. At least Mikayla knew how to make her feel good.

"You just got here, though," Miley said, gripping the younger girl's waist underneath her shirt.

"I haven't seen you all week, baby." Their lips met in a hot, passionate kiss. "We'll talk later when your dad's around to make sure you keep your door open."

Miley hesitated, and Mikayla's eyes flashed with irritation. "Okay," she conceded, her heart twisting at the sexy grin her girlfriend gave her right before smashing their lips back together.

Miley wasn't sure this was the best way to use their time if they wanted to work things out. However, the first step to going back to the way they used to be was by giving in to Mikayla's sexual needs. She would be in a really good mood afterwards, anyway.

As Mikayla led them clumsily up the stairs, Miley found her thoughts straying back to Lilly. The fact that the younger blonde might actually like her back didn't seem so important now that Mikayla was there. This was who she was meant to be with, not Lilly. In the long run, Lilly would probably end up with Jackson or Oliver, anyway.

Maybe if she had been the younger sister, she would have been Lilly's friend from the start, and maybe it would be her in Mikayla's spot right now.

Unfortunately, Miley would never know.

* * *

A/N: I'm not sure if I'll be continuing this. I was sitting around last night and suddenly wondered what it would be like if Miley was the older sister, and what she would be like if she had never been best friends with Lilly. It would be something worth continuing to explore. Let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: The song referenced to in this chapter is "Broken Hearted Soul" by RA. I don't own that song, but for the sake of story, Miley wrote it.

* * *

Three nights later, Miley found herself staring at her laptop screen once again with glazed eyes as she tried to finish her Biology paper on sickle cell anemia. Instead of working vainly in the kitchen, she reverted back to doing her homework in her bedroom away from the distraction that came with her brother and his friends.

Lying on her stomach on the bed, reading a poetry book was Miley's best friend Sarah. Occasionally, Sarah would glance at Miley, who was sitting on the floor with her back against her bed, and offer a writing suggestion. The faster she finished her paper, the faster she and Sarah could leave the confines of her home and do something to forget that it was still only Monday evening.

School had gone by impossibly slow that day, which Miley expected after her fast pace weekend. On Saturday morning she had a photo shoot for her new Hannah Montana album. In the beginning, the record label had been very reluctant to let Hannah produce the new set of songs she wrote, as they were deeper and more emotional than her previous ones. However, after they ran an experimental single, 'Broken Hearted Soul,' the critics and fans reactions were all very positive; the critics stated she was finally growing up and the fans were happy they were finally seeing another side of her. The rest of her weekend consisted of a concert and party afterwards, and a charity event on Sunday.

For the hundredth time since her and Sarah had gotten to her room, Miley flipped over her phone from its facedown position on the floor next to her and pressed a button to activate the front screen. Her disappointment was just as thick as the last ninety nine times when she found there were no new messages in her inbox and no missed calls. Expelling an agitated breath, she flipped the phone back over and slid it underneath her leg. She had a habit of keeping the front screen of her cell phone out of sight whenever she wished Mikayla would get back to her.

Through her peripheral vision, Miley noticed Sarah peering down at her from over her book. The older brunette pretended not to notice and returned her attention to her computer screen.

"You know, Miley, you looking at your phone every eight seconds won't make it ring any quicker. She will get back to you eventually," Sarah said gently.

Sighing, Miley pressed two fingers to her temple and rubbed gently. She did not like that Sarah had caught on to what she was doing. Of course, she knew her friend was only trying to make her feel better, so she couldn't resent her for being so perceptive. "I don't want to miss it if she calls. And besides, what if someone's having an emergency and they need to get a hold of me?" she added. Even with Sarah, she still had her pride.

"I believe you'll hear it ring, then."

Miley glanced over her shoulder and found the other girl grinning at her. After letting out a slight chuckle, she chewed on the tip of her tongue for a moment. "I'm being pathetic, aren't I?" All day, Miley had been waiting for some kind of response to the seven texts she sent Mikayla. The other girl had hardly spoken to her since her abrupt exit Friday night shortly after her dad got home.

Sarah gazed pensively at her for a moment, probably taking the time to formulate the words properly in her head. "It all depends on your perspective. You see, to an impartial third party, you sitting around, obsessively, I might add, waiting for your girlfriend to call or text you is completely normal. But from your perspective, as Miley, you wonder if you're being too clingy by wanting Mikayla to call, even though you've only gotten, like, two response texts from her over the past three days."

The tips of Miley's ears heated up, and she pretended she wasn't embarrassed that Sarah had hit her feelings dead on. "Well, what about _your_ perspective?" she said a little sharply.

Shrugging, Sarah closed her book on her forefinger to mark the page. She used her other hand to push her glasses farther up the bridge of her nose. "From my perspective, I think you're behaving perfectly reasonably, while Mikayla is being very selfish and inconsiderate."

Miley's jaw opened furiously. "What? How!"

Sarah appeared unperturbed by the older girl's exclamation. "Miley, she _knows _how you get when she doesn't call you back. She's shooting an arrow straight into your insecurities," she finished, her a voice slightly more passionate than before.

Blood rushed to her face as she felt the embarrassment that came with Sarah's words. It always bothered her whenever the other girl drew attention to her flaws. "It's _my_ problem, not hers," she said forcefully. Why should Mikayla bear the burden of her insecurities? It wouldn't be fair to her. "God, why're you always bashing on her, anyway?"

"Because _you're_ not the one who's doing anything wrong."

Miley clenched her jaw tightly and scowled at the closed bedroom door, where an enormous movie poster of Jake Ryan's last movie was plastered to its surface. "I'm so not talking about this anymore. Every time we talk about this, we end up arguing, I'm sick of it." It was true. Ever since she and Mikayla had gotten together last March, Sarah never had anything good to say about it, especially after last month's tabloid covers of Mikayla kissing the same girl at several different locations.

"As your best friend, I'm compelled to make you see reason," Sarah stated calmly.

"What're you sayin'?" After placing her laptop on the floor, Miley rotated herself so she was facing the other girl. Her long hair fell backwards as she propped herself on her palms.

"As much as it kills me to break it to you, Miles…" Sarah trailed off, looking down at her fidgeting fingers as though she were nervous about sharing a possibly offensive secret.

"Yeah?" she pressed apprehensively.

Sarah stared at her for a moment. "You're not dating God."

Miley blinked. She hadn't expected that. For one drawn out moment, she had been terrified that her friend might have spotted Mikayla cheating on her again. Miley didn't know what she would do if that happened; she wasn't sure if her heart could take that again.

"Your point?" she asked, curious, and slightly irritated with herself.

"How's Lilly been doing?"

Thrown by Sarah's complete change in subject, Miley could only stare at her for several quiet moments. Her eyebrows furrowed into a quizzical frown and she tilted her head. The look of rapt curiosity on her friend's face seemed sincere enough.

"Um, good? I don't know, Sarah. Now, what was your point? I want to know. I'm not dating God…? You were going somewhere with that," she pressed on, not willing to change the subject entirely. However, now images of passing Lilly at school today swirled in with the ones of Mikayla and her insecurities.

"I really like Lilly, she's a very kind person," Sarah continued, as though she hadn't heard Miley speak. She absently played with a lock of her dirty blonde hair while nodding matter-of-factly.

"Lilly, kind, you like her, I got it, now what were you saying about Mikayla and God?" Her curiosity was dwindling now, and she found herself more eager to talk about Lilly. To her pleasant surprise, thinking about the younger blonde brought on a feeling of giddiness that was enough to minimize her anxiety about Mikayla. Perhaps having a crush on her had its perks after all.

"I admire Lilly, she always makes time for others, even though she's obviously depressed. I think she's having family problems." Sarah's eyes were downcast and she stared sadly at the polished wooden floor.

"Say what?"

The right corner of Sarah's mouth lifted into an amused smile when she saw the look on Miley's face. "It's okay if you haven't noticed, I don't even think your brother or Oliver have noticed anything," she said, as if that made it okay.

Miley's chest was burning with an overwhelming number of new emotions. Lilly was depressed? How had she not seen it? She saw the other girl nearly every day, if Lilly was depressed, she would have definitely noticed. How had _Sarah_ noticed before her…?

"And, of course, _you_ have," Miley said bitterly. She scowled at her nightstand, refusing to look her friend in the eye. "Tell me, Sarah, how do you manage to get straight A's when all you ever do at school is watch people? I'm almost jealous."

"I'm simply observant of my surroundings," Sarah stated, as though it should be abundantly obvious. "You can tell a lot from someone simply by the way they dress and fix their hair."

"Lilly's style hasn't changed much since last year." Miley was stubbornly happy she knew at least that much.

"No," Sarah agreed, nodding her head. "Remember how I didn't take gym our sophomore year, and remember how I'm taking it now with this year's freshmen?" She paused, and continued after Miley nodded. "Well, her and I talk a lot in that class this semester. She always chooses me as a partner for some strange reason…" she trailed off, staring into space as she silently pondered. After a moment, she collected herself. "I've picked up on a few things though."

Miley was torn. Her chest bubbled with irrational anger towards her best friend for having noticed something extremely important about Lilly. However, she knew it wasn't fair to Sarah to feel so irritated; she should be grateful her friend was even telling her this in the first place.

Knowing her face had already betrayed her emotions, Miley sweetened her tone as much as possible. She knew Sarah wouldn't buy it, but she also knew the other girl wouldn't press the matter. "Like?"

Sarah shook her head, causing her glasses to slip down the bridge of her nose. "It's not my place to say anything," she said regretfully, pushing the square frames back up.

"But if she didn't tell you in the first place, then it's not even a secret. Tell me!" she encouraged. Resting her chin on her plush comforter, she gave Sarah her famous puppy-dog eye look.

The younger girl firmly shook her head. "Besides, I never said she didn't tell me anything—she's told me quite a bit actually," she added, her brow drawn down as she reminisced on the happenings of her freshman P.E. class.

A frustrated breath escaped Miley's lips, and she narrowed her eyes on Sarah. "Why're you telling me this, then? Are you _trying_ to shove it in my face that you know her better than me?" She instantly regretted sounding so harsh when Sarah immediately glared incredulously at her. Her eyes returned to their spot on her nightstand, as she felt too ashamed to look her friend in the face.

"I think you two can help each other out," she responded, sounding just as calm and neutral as she had for most of their conversation.

Miley allowed herself a glance at Sarah and noticed her eyes piercing into her. It was as if the other girl was trying to scream out a message with her eyes, though the brunette wasn't sure what it was.

"I don't need help with anything…do I?" Miley gazed worriedly at Sarah, and wondered if that was what she was trying to say. Had Sarah noticed something about her that wasn't quite right? She furiously searched her mind for anything about herself that might be amiss.

Snickering, Sarah shook her head. "You can help her is what I meant."

Miley tilted her head and gazed at her for a moment. Was it her imagination, or did Sarah seem almost disappointed by her response? After being friends with Sarah for two years, Miley had begun to pick up on some of the things the other girl noticed in people. Right now, it was very clear Sarah wasn't telling her everything. Since day one, Sarah had always pressed these little lessons on her.

"It's her problem, not mine," Miley said without thinking. Realizing how she sounded, she hurriedly backtracked before Sarah could get on her case for being insensitive. "I didn't mean it like that. What I meant was Jackson's her best friend and _my_ younger brother. I can only imagine what'd he say if I tried to get closer to Lilly. He wouldn't be happy, to say the least."

"This has nothing to do with Jackson. And I think she would appreciate any attempt." There was a certain tone in Sarah's voice she could not identify.

"What makes you say that?" Miley wondered.

"Like I said, we talk…a _lot_," she finished, staring at Miley carefully, gauging her reaction.

Instead of letting her jealousy get the best of her, Miley decided that maybe she could use Sarah's friendship with Lilly in her own favor. Just because she was already seeing someone did not mean she couldn't at least entertain thoughts of her and Lilly.

"So…she ever say anything about me?" Miley wasn't concerned whether or not she was being too obvious about her crush on Lilly; either way, Sarah always knew what she was feeling, even if she didn't say anything. That was one of the things she appreciated most about their friendship, even though it could get quite annoying at times.

Sarah merely grinned widely at her, as though there were some inside joke Miley wasn't getting. Shrugging innocently, the blonde extended a hand and patted her on the head. "I've got to get home for dinner, I'll see you tomorrow, Miles!"

Hopping off the bed, Sarah practically skipped to the door.

"Sarah!" Miley complained. "Why do you do this to me?"

* * *

It was the smell of her father's delicious cooking that drew Miley away from her computer and downstairs a couple of hours later. She spotted Robby Ray behind the stove using a large metal spoon to stir chicken while whistling tunelessly. Grinning, she made her away to the living room, dropped onto the couch, and grabbed the remote, which she had replaced the batteries to the night before.

"Hey, bud," Robby Ray said, smiling at his daughter while twirling the spoon in his hand.

"Hey, Daddy, dinner almost ready yet?"

He checked his wristwatch. "About another ten minutes. You finish your paper yet?"

Groaning, Miley switched on the television and leaned back until her head was pressed against the armrest. She smoothed a stray strand of hair over her head. "Ugh, no, I've got another half a page to go, but I ran out of research. Sarah left, like, right before I really needed her help."

"Why don't you go and call her after dinner, then?" Robby Ray suggested. His eyes wandered toward the tv and he watched for several moments as the younger girl channel surfed.

Deciding on an old sitcom, Miley replaced the remote on the coffee table. She shook her head and glanced at her father to let him know she was paying attention. "I'll just talk to her about it tomorrow at school, I do have until Wednesday to get this done."

"So long as you finish it on time…" he trailed off, giving her a pointed look.

Frustrated, she bit the tip of her tongue. "It's only half a page, Daddy," she said as evenly as she could. When Miley first began dating Mikayla, her school grades had suffered a huge hit, much to Robby Ray's displeasure. Even after she got her grades back under control (after several weeks of grounding), he was still very cautious of how much effort she put into school.

"So, uh, where's Jackson?" Miley asked, nonchalantly, keeping her eyes on the television. The question felt more awkward to ask than usual, maybe because she had an ulterior motive.

"Down at the beach waiting for Lilly's afternoon shift at Rico's to finish up. She's joining us for dinner." She felt his stare on her. "Any particular reason you suddenly care where your brother's at?"

"Nope!" Miley said brightly. Her heart hammered, but not because of his question. Lilly was joining them for dinner; she was suddenly giddy with excitement. In the back of her mind, she wondered why she was more excited to see Lilly than she ever was to see Mikayla, but she did not dwell too much on it. Tonight would be a good night to pay attention to the blonde, and hopefully see what Sarah saw. "I forgot Lilly had a job at Rico's…" she stated truthfully.

The back door banged open and two sets of footsteps clambered inside. Supporting her weight on her arm, Miley peered over the top of the couch and saw Jackson and Lilly kicking off their shoes. Her chest swelled and her heart went wild at the sight of a disheveled Lilly wearing a bright green t-shirt with 'Rico's' on the front.

"Did you _see _the look on the guy's face?" Lilly exclaimed excitedly. She hadn't noticed Miley yet. "He was all, like…" Her features pulled into a comical expression of astonishment. Miley's lips twitched in amusement.

"That's 'cause he thought he was being attacked by a wooden board," Jackson said, while he closed the door. He spotted Miley watching them from the couch; his eyes darted at the running television behind her and, for a moment, he looked disappointed.

"It was freakin' awesome!"

Lilly finally noticed Miley, and her mouth pulled into a wide grin. "Hey, Miley," she greeted brightly. Straying from Jackson, she went over to the couch and collapsed on the opposite end.

"What happened?" Miley asked curiously. As casually as she could, she let her eyes drift up and down Lilly's form, spending the most time examining her face. For the first time, she noticed the dark circles under Lilly's eyes, and even though she was happily smiling, it still didn't quite reach her eyes. Her shoulders were slumped over, as though she were exhausted. Concerned, Miley sat up straighter on the couch.

"Oh, god, it was great—"

"You know that six foot drop off the deck by Rico's?" Jackson interrupted. "Well Lilly was standing next to the ledge on her skateboard and lost her balance." He dropped into the arm chair next to the couch.

"My board flew over the ledge and onto some guy's beach blanket. It scared the crap out of him!" Lilly and Jackson laughed as they recalled the recent incident.

"And then she jumped the ledge to go get it and almost landed in his picnic basket." Jackson shook his head humorously, as though it was a very typical act for his best friend to do.

"Well, I wasn't going to leave it there," Lilly claimed. She grinned at Miley, who couldn't help returning the smile. Even though the blonde looked like she could use several nights of good sleep, she still looked gorgeous in Miley's eyes.

"The look on his face was priceless—"

"Absolute classic!" Lilly added, her eyes bright with humor.

Chuckling, Miley shook her head. "You so probably ruined some hot dinner date." She would have loved to see Lilly do that, and with a twinge of regret, pondered on what it would be like if things were the other way around and the other girl was _her_ best friend.

"God, I hope not, the guy was, like, forty," Lilly frowned in mock disgust.

"Hey!" Robby Ray called from the kitchen.

Lilly looked at him apologetically. "Sorry, Mr. S!" She accentuated her statement by giggling behind her hand. Miley glanced at her dad and noticed him grinning good naturedly.

"So, Lilly, what's up?" Miley asked, trying to draw the other girl's attention back to her. Her eyes flicked towards Jackson, who was eyeing the remote with a look that could only be described as territorial. She inwardly rolled her eyes.

Shrugging, Lilly picked at the hem of her shirt, glancing at Miley occasionally. "Nothing really, Rico's was dead today, but he wouldn't let me do my homework." Her tone changed; it was much softer. "The little prick made me scrape off all the gum under the counter." Miley's nose scrunched up in distaste. "I know, it was so gross!"

Snickering, Miley imagined an agitated Lilly cleaning the gum from beneath the counter. Lilly mock glared at her, as though she could read her thoughts. The brunette shrugged and gave her a lopsided smile. Miley's heart stampeded in her chest when Lilly turned flustered, blushed, and looked intently at her lap.

"Shouldn't you be finishing your paper, Miles? Homework is very important, you know," he said pointedly, his eyes moving back and forth between his sister and the remote.

Rolling her eyes, Miley grabbed the remote and chucked it at the younger boy. She wasn't in the mood to deal with their usual bickering. "I'm taking a break, dork brain. Don't you have your own homework to do, anyway?"

"Finished," he claimed, puffing his chest proudly.

Miley scoffed to hide her surprise. "Shut it."

He began switching through channels so fast, she wondered how he had any time to see what was actually on. "I need you to drive me to Oliver's tomorrow," Jackson declared, leaving the television on some stupid cartoon show.

"Forget it!" she exclaimed angrily. So much for avoiding their sibling bickering. "Sarah and I have plans. Hey, Lilly, do you work tomorrow?" She quickly changed the subject, wanting to include her crush in the conversation.

"Yep, four to seven." The same grin remained plastered to Lilly's face, and Miley felt her chest stretch.

Miley made a mental note to go and visit Lilly tomorrow while she worked. If Jackson was at Oliver's, that meant neither of them would be around the other girl. She didn't actually have plans with Sarah for tomorrow.

Miley liked the way Lilly made her feel. It was so much different than how Mikayla made her feel. This would have worried Miley if it hadn't been for her quick reasoning; she was in love with Mikayla, while she was only experiencing symptoms of a crush for Lilly. She knew too little about the blonde to feel anything more.

Upon catching Lilly's subtle glance in her direction, Miley suddenly wondered if she was looking at things in all the wrong ways. Just because Mikayla had gotten to her first, didn't mean they were meant for each other. Maybe Miley was meant for someone else…

* * *

A/N: I've decided to continue this story, thanks to all of the positive reviews. I was surprised by how many people liked the idea, so thank you. If there's anything you guys would like to see done with this story, please let me know and I'll consider adding it in. Once again, thank you to all my readers and reviewers!


	3. Chapter 3

The late afternoon air was very crisp and chilly, and the strong wind made it feel much colder than it truly was. Underneath her pink, zip-up sweatshirt, Miley shivered and hugged her arms close to her body. Her long hair whipped across her face almost painfully. She brought up a hand and smoothed the strand behind her ear. Next, she gingerly felt along the back of her head for anymore hair that might have escaped her messy bun.

Next to her, Sarah was crouching in the sand, sifting through a washed up pile of rocks. Miley glanced down at her friend and smiled fondly when she noticed the look of excitement on her face. It had been Miley's idea to go to the beach after school and look for shells, as she had a good hour to kill before Lilly began her shift. She was happy about her decision now, even though it was a chilly day, because of how much Sarah appeared to be enjoying herself

"Here's a good one!" Sarah said happily, jumping to her feet, and extending her palm, face-up, in front of Miley. She used her other hand to brush the sand off of her knees.

"Yeah, that one's really pretty," Miley agreed sincerely. It was difficult to resist her friend's enthusiasm. Glancing down at her watch, her heart skipped a beat when she realized it was already a quarter after four. "Look, I'm going to head over to Rico's and grab a snack, you want anything?" She began to feel very high energy as a mixture of adrenaline and nerves pumped through her body. As a result, her hands began to restlessly fidget.

Sarah shook her head. "No, I think I'm going to go home and finish knitting the socks I'm donating to the homeless shelter for the Thanksgiving can and clothing drive." Carefully, she placed the shell in the purse slung over her shoulder.

"You want any help with that?" Miley offered. "I don't mind going with you, it's kinda cold out here, anyway." The combination of the temperature and her adrenaline made her shoulders tremble, accentuating her statement.

"It's okay if you feel nervous going to talk to Lilly, you know." Sarah smiled softly as the tips of Miley's ears reddened. "It means that you really care what she thinks."

Throwing her head backwards so she was looking up at the sky, she groaned. "Ugh, I'm being pathetic again, aren't I? What the hell is wrong with me?" Another strand of hair whipped across her cheek, and she furiously pushed it aside, agitated. "I'm freakin' Hannah Montana and the thought of going over and talkin' with Lilly makes me feel like I'm about to lose my virginity."

Frowning, Sarah stared off into space. "You know, now that you mention it, I'm surprised people haven't figured out that Hannah Montana is a lesbian."

The tone in Sarah's voice held so such sincere wonder that Miley giggled. Her best friend was so random. "I mention Hannah and that's what you come with?" she asked, amused.

"Yes," she nodded.

Miley threw her arms around the other girl's shoulders and pulled her into a tight embrace. "I seriously love you, Sarah, I hope you know that."

After several more minutes of Sarah's motivating speeches, they finally parted ways; Miley briskly heading toward Rico's, and Sarah strolling down the beach toward her house. Eagerly, she climbed up the wooden stairs to the raised part of the beach where Rico's was located. The excitement of seeing Lilly, whom she had not run into at school that day, dominated her nerves; she sped up her walk and almost tripped on the stairs in her haste.

It felt as though Miley had stepped into a cheesy zombie movie; when she rounded the corner, she found the area was completely deserted. Stopping midstride, her brow furrowed and her nose wrinkled in confusion as she glanced around at the empty tables and beach chairs. For a brief (panicked) moment, she wondered if this part of the beach had been closed for the day, and she wasn't supposed to be there. She was instantly relieved when she spotted Lilly behind the counter at Rico's, using a dishtowel to wipe down the probably already spotless counters. Her eyes were vacant and her hand was mechanically scrubbing the same spot over and over; she looked extremely bored.

Lilly wasn't kidding when she said this place was dead, Miley thought. Summoning to her face what she hoped was a cute smile, she took a deep breath and casually approached the shack. "Hey, Lilly," she greeted coolly, hopping onto the barstool directly in front of the other girl.

A bright smile lit Lilly's face, even before she looked up. "Miley, hey, what's up?" Her moving hand stilled, and she let go of the towel.

Miley bit into her bottom lip as she felt her heart rate increase even further because of the blonde's adorable smile. "Not much, I was just on the beach helping Sarah find shells for the jewelry box she's making her mother for Christmas."

Her eyes quickly scanned Lilly's figure; she noted that other than the green hat Lilly wore, she looked exactly the same as yesterday, including the same t-shirt (with a navy blue long sleeved shirt underneath), and the same exhaustion. Concerned permeated in with her high energy emotions; was Sarah right? Was there something going on with Lilly and her family?

Lilly tilted her head to the side and gazed at Miley, appearing slightly confused. "You actually help Sarah with that kind of stuff?" she questioned.

From the corner of her eye, Miley noticed a single strand of hair stuck to her upper arm. She brought her hand over and picked it off. "Yeah, why wouldn't I?" she said, slightly preoccupied with searching the rest of her upper body for anymore offensive stray hairs.

Lilly shook her head, her eyes downcast. "I don't know…" she trailed off. She bit her lip and glanced up at Miley, as though debating whether or not to vocalize her thoughts. "I guess I just have this image of you in my head…like, even before I knew your secret, you just seemed like you would be interested in more girly things, like clothes and makeup, not things like shell picking." She shrugged self-consciously.

The corner of Miley's mouth rose slightly. If Lilly didn't sound so shy and cute, she would have been offended by that assumption. However, it was difficult for people to sometimes understand why she and Sarah were so close. "You should see what Sarah and I do when we hang out, then," she said, smiling to let the other girl know she wasn't offended. "Let's see, last weekend, me and her spent the entire Saturday cleaning up parks all over Malibu."

Lilly chuckled. "Yet another surprise." She pulled the dishtowel toward herself and began wiping the pristine counter again. Miley's head fell to the side slight, wondering if keeping her hands busy was a nervous habit; it was for Mikayla.

"And I'm helping her knit, like, a bazillion pairs of socks for the can and clothing drive," Miley added, nodding her head and grinning impressively.

"_You_ know how to knit?" Lilly asked incredulously.

"I don't know if I should be offended by that or not." She smiled widely to let Lilly know she as joking. "Yeah, Sarah taught me a long while back. It's actually really relaxing, especially after a long day at the studio. But no, being friends with her for so long made me realize looks don't always matter."

"But you always look amazing." Lilly's eyes widened as she realized what she said. A red blush crept over her cheeks, and she avoided eye contact with the brunette as she furiously scrubbed the counter, looking incredibly embarrassed.

It felt like Miley's heart was going to explode through chest; she was positive Lilly could hear the fast paced thumping. A broad grin plastered itself to her face and it took a great deal of effort not to bounce in her seat from the overwhelming giddiness.

"Sarah wisdom so doesn't stop me from wanting to look good. So long as I know looks aren't everything, she won't go and bite my head off." Miley's voice sounded a little higher pitched, but otherwise, it resembled nothing of her mood.

It was quiet for several long moments; Miley sat on her stool replaying Lilly's compliment over and over again in her mind. She noted how smooth the backs of the blonde's hands were and she resisted the urge to reach out and stroke her fingertips along them. There was a small, jagged scar on the side of Lilly's forefinger. Just as Miley opened her mouth to ask how she had gotten it, Lilly spoke.

"So, um, how's Mikayla doing?" she asked awkwardly.

It was clear the other girl was uncomfortable bringing up the subject, especially after the last time they talked about Mikayla, so Miley wondered why Lilly even brought it up. "Great! Great, she's doing…" Miley trailed off. Lilly was finally looking at her again, and her eyes were filled with, what Miley recognized as, vulnerability. "I honestly have no idea," she finished sullenly. Mikayla _still_ hadn't gotten back to her.

Lilly's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

Miley stared at her for a moment, wondering if it was the best idea to talk about this. However, if Sarah had been there, she knew her friend would say that the best way to get someone to open up to her was to share something personal with them. And wasn't that what this was about? Helping Lilly?

"She, uh, she just hasn't gotten back to me back in a while," Miley admitted, almost shamefully. She held her head up high, hoping Lilly wouldn't catch on to how much this truly bothered her.

Unfortunately, Lilly didn't buy it. "Oh, Miley, I'm sorry," she said, sincerely. "Are you okay, though? I mean, are you…" Her eyebrows drew together and she looked momentarily stupefied. "Yeah, never mind, I don't know where I was going with that. I need to retune the wire that connects my brain to my mouth. I wonder if it's like a circuit breaker, if my wire fried and needs a switch flip…But seriously, are you okay?"

Miley had a hard time not smiling through Lilly's adorable babble. Her chest had a pulling feeling inside and she wasn't surprised to realize that she really liked Lilly's aimless muses. The blonde sounded like Sarah did when she went off on a mindless tangent about rainforests or global warming. Only, Lilly sounded cuter than Sarah.

"Not really," Miley admitted. She could practically feel the concern radiating off Lilly, but she didn't look up. "Have you ever needed someone so bad, but they were never there for you? And the only time they _were_ there, you didn't actually need them?"

Lilly's features pulled into a scowl; she glared somewhere behind Miley with a clouded look in her eye. "I definitely know how that goes," she said darkly. Her scowl disappeared as quickly as it came. She threw her dishtowel somewhere Miley couldn't see. "Is that what Mikayla's doing now?"

Miley shook her head. "Well, no, but it's happened before," she clarified. "Right now, all I want to do is talk to her. I just want things to go back to the way they were, but I'm…" she trailed off. Lilly was giving her undivided attention. "I'm getting the feeling maybe I'm the only one who wants that. She just never puts in any effort with us." She looked away. This was the first time she ever vocalized these insecurities; it had been surprisingly easy to do with Lilly.

"Why do you stay with her if she treats you like this? You shouldn't…" she stopped again, with the same look that she thought she said too much.

"Yeah?" Miley asked, curious.

Lilly shook her head. "Never mind, it's nothing."

"First Sarah and now you," Miley said with exaggerated annoyance. "I swear, ya'll are both plotting against me. Satisfy my curiosity, please." She jutted out her bottom lip and fluttered her eyelids, giving Lilly her famous puppy-dog expression.

Lilly visibly faltered. Her jaw fell slightly and she gazed at Miley's lips with so much intensity that the older girl almost forgot what they were talking about. It was certainly enough to make her forget about Mikayla for the moment. She definitely liked the way Lilly was looking at her lips.

It took at least a minute before Lilly managed to collect herself. Shaking her head sharply, she brought her right hand over to her left elbow and pulled her arms close together. "Well, why are you still with her?" she repeated.

It took Miley a second to realize the other girl had just resumed their conversation. When she recalled what they were talking about, she shook her head fiercely. "Uh uh, no way, you tell me what you were going to say first, and then I'll answer the question," she bargained.

"That's fine," Lilly conceded, without a moment's hesitation.

Miley stared. "Girl-who-was-supposed-to-disagree say what?"

Shrugging, Lilly grinned. "I'll tell you what I was going to say, and then you have to answer my question. Even though I think you should just answer it anyway," she said, nodding seriously.

Miley's eyes narrowed. "Well, I think you should just answer mine," she said, giving Lilly the same lopsided smile from the night before. Once again, the blonde was momentarily distracted. Miley's heart jumped, ecstatic that Lilly responded so well to her.

"As Sarah's best friend, I think you should have a better understanding of how equality works," Lilly stated matter-of-factly after she recovered.

"You said it first," Miley argued.

Lilly looked genuinely confused. "Said what?"

Miley looked at her disbelievingly, like Lilly should have known exactly what she was talking about. "That I should just answer your question, anyway. You were implying that you didn't need to answer my question."

"I was not!"

"Were too!"

Tilting her head to the side, Lilly's eyes looked toward the cloud scattered sky as she thought. "But I already agreed to answer your question," she remembered. "It didn't matter that I hammered that at the end, as long as I agreed to your terms, which I did." She crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow at Miley, whose heart stuttered for a second before beating erratically in her chest.

"It's the principle of the matter." Miley, too, crossed her arms and pursed her lips. She was convinced she was right about this, and an ounce frustrated that Lilly would not just answer the question. Was it really that bad?

"What principle?"

Miley stared at her like she had grown a third arm. "Hello, Lilly, equality!" she exclaimed, as though it were clearly obvious this was what they had been talking about the entire time.

A smile cracked Lilly's lips just before she began to snicker. Shaking her head, she playfully rolled her eyes. "You're such a dork," she grinned. "Do you even remember what we're arguing about?"

Still focused on the shape Lilly's lips made when she smiled, it took her a second longer to respond than normal. "We aren't arguing, we're 'debating.' It sounds way more positive. Gosh, suck me down with your ocean of negativity, why don't'cha?" Miley gave her a crooked smile to let her know she was joking.

Lilly shook her head and leaned forward on the counter, resting her weight on her upper arms, and intertwining her fingers together. "I think you've got it backwards, Miles, you're the one trying to suck _me_ into your bottomless sea of negativity. Thankfully, I'm sitting safely on my boat riding those choppy waves with a deep sea fishing rod in my hands." There was a playful glint in her eyes that Miley rarely saw.

Momentarily caught on how Lilly had called her 'Miles' (a rarity, and hopefully a good sign now), it took her a second to register the rest of the sentence. "Yeah? What's that for?" she inquired, distracted by her whirlwind of thoughts.

"To reel you in, of course. Someone's got to save you."

The playful glint was gone now. Miley was speechless; the absolute sincerity in Lilly's eyes was doing things to her body she hadn't felt in a long time. It almost made her dizzy to be feeling so many positive emotions building in the middle of her chest. Why couldn't Mikayla make her feel like this anymore? Lilly's words, and the sincerity behind them, made her heart thump so hard and fast that it was almost painful; a genuine happiness and feeling of being wanted and cared about by the girl she had a crush on nearly overwhelmed her. In fact, Miley no longer had a simple crush on Lilly anymore; she genuinely liked her now.

After taking a deep breath to help steady her voice, Miley was ready to speak. "You think you're up for it? People say I'm a stubborn one." Her voice still shook slightly, but it was barely noticeable. She drew her hands into her lap when she realized they were trembling. If Lilly noticed, she didn't say anything.

Lilly's jaw clenched and she nodded seriously. "You're worth it, Miley," she whispered, her tone thick with an unidentifiable emotion. She held the brunette's gaze for several long moments. It seemed as though she was searching Miley's eyes for something.

"Hey, uh, can I get some nachos?"

Both girls jumped, startled by the unceremonious interruption. Lilly muttered a quick apology to the girl and went to pull a pre-made nacho out of the warmer. Miley glanced over and saw Jess, from her biology class, sitting two barstools away, pulling a few one dollar bills out of her pocket. Miley smiled to herself, amused that she and Lilly had been so lost in their conversation that they hadn't even noticed when someone sat down right next to them. Which was saying a lot, as this part of the beach was practically deserted.

When Jess walked off with her nachos, Lilly resumed her previous position in front of Miley. She fiddled with the brim of her hat almost nervously. "If that was one of Rico's secret shoppers, I'm so fired," she said worriedly.

"I think I'm afraid of letting go…" Miley began. Her eyes flicked toward Lilly, but then back down at the counter again. This was the first time she was admitting this to anyone.

Confusion replaced Lilly's anxiousness and she gazed blankly at Miley. "What?"

The corners of Miley's lips twitched as she held back a smile. Lilly's short term memory entertained her. "You wanted to know why I'm staying with Mikayla."

Lilly's eyes widened with understanding. "You're afraid of letting go?" She pressed more of her weight on her forearms as she leaned in even closer. It was like she was trying to cling onto every word Miley said.

Miley's heart stuttered at the proximity of Lilly's face to her own. "Yeah…" She drew a deep breath. "I've been with her for eight months, eight very long, drama-filled months," she added quietly, her eyes clouding as she reminisced of her earlier days with Mikayla. "We've been through a lot together, she's gotten so many of my firsts, and it's just too hard to even think about letting all of that go, having it all be some huge waste of time. I love her so much."

Lilly's eyebrow furrowed and she gazed intently at her hands. No doubt, she was trying to word things correctly in her head before she said them aloud. "Do you think she's worth the torture you're putting yourself through? I think you would feel a lot better if you just ended things. Sure, it would hurt for a while, but in the long run, you _need_ to think about making yourself happy," she finished, her eyes boring into Miley's.

"I wish Mikayla would make me happy, like she used to," she muttered sadly. Pulling hand out of her lap, she smoothed a strand of windblown hair out of her face. "And to answer your question, I _know_ it's not worth what I'm doing to myself. God, I fucking know it and I'm not doing a damn thing to stop it."

Lilly looked at her sympathetically. "It's because you're hoping things might get better eventually, if you put a little more of your time and effort into it."

Miley stared at her for a moment. "Yeah, I think you've got it, Lilly, wow." She was impressed. Only Sarah was able to make that sort of deduction. "But it's still a two-way street."

"You deserve someone who's willing to fight for you." There was a passion to Lilly's tone that made Miley smile slightly.

"I do, I really do," she agreed. For once, she wished Mikayla would fight for her, not the other way around. "I just wish Mikayla would be the one to do it."

"Do you think she loves you?" Lilly asked gently, after a pause.

Miley looked away when she felt a painful lurch in her chest. Not even Sarah was brave enough to ask her that question. In a way, it pleased her that Lilly would ask for her to reveal something so personal. The answer, however, wasn't easy to admit. "No…how sad is that?" She laughed bitterly at herself. "I'm ninety-five percent sure she doesn't love me, not the way she used to at least, and I'm _still_ hanging onto her for dear life."

Her eyes darted up to see Lilly's face, and to her surprise, there was not an ounce of judgment written on her features; on the contrary, she gazed at Miley with understanding.

"But you already said it, Miley," Lilly said softly, "you're afraid of letting her go."

After moistening her lips, she raised her arms and rested her elbows on the brown countertop. "Yeah…I want it to _mean_ something, you know?" she said passionately, jerking her right hand for emphasis. "I don't want our entire relationship to be some huge lie."

It was quiet for several seconds. Miley's head was turned, and she gazed out onto the beach as she waited for Lilly to respond. She noticed Jess out in the ocean, surfing, and she and squinted to see the other girl ride a wave all the way to shore.

"Do you know what you're going to do?" Lilly finally asked.

Apparently she hadn't been able to think of a response related to what Miley just said. It did not bother her, somehow. It just felt good to get this all off her chest finally, even though it brought on a whole new set of issues she now had to deal with.

"What do _you_ think I should do?" Miley questioned, curious for the blonde's opinion.

Lilly shook her head. "It's really not up to me."

Pressing more of her weight on her forearms, Miley leaned forward. "Every opinion is valued, and yours would mean a lot to me." Her lips curved into the crooked smile she often reserved for Lilly.

Just like Miley thought she would, Lilly's eyes were drawn down to her lips, and she stared, open-mouthed, for a moment. "Okay…" she said, still staring at the older girl's lips. After a second, she shook herself out of it and returned her gaze toward Miley's face. "I think you should end it. You need to find someone who can make you more happy than she ever did."

Miley leaned back and chuckled dryly. "Now that sounds like a keeper." The thought of starting all over again with someone new, no matter who it was, yanked painfully at the middle of her chest. However, maybe it would be worth it in the end.

"That person _is_ out there, you know." A ghost of a smile teased Lilly's lips.

Miley hated to make assumptions of any sort, just in case they turned out to be wrong. There had been too many times where she turned out as the fool for assuming the wrong thing. However, there were a lot of signs pointing out that Lilly might, in fact, return the same feelings. The thought brought a momentary smile to her lips.

"I don't think I'm going to end it just yet…I'm not ready." Running a hand through her windswept hair, Miley gazed carefully at Lilly's face, trying very hard to read the flash that ran through her eyes. Was it regret?

"Miley…" Lilly began. She looked intently at something behind Miley, as though she felt too awkward to continue.

"Yeah?" she asked, wondering what was going through the other girl's mind to make her act so shy all of a sudden. She tried, unsuccessfully, to catch Lilly's gaze. Her insecurity began to simmer.

After taking a deep breath, Lilly reinstated their eye contact. She looked as nervous as Miley felt. "I know you have Sarah, but whatever happens, I'm always here for you. Whenever you need me," she muttered. As soon as she finished, she looked away again.

Despite her quiet voice, Miley heard the sincerity behind the blonde's words and it warmed her heart. Why couldn't Lilly have always been her friend? Maybe things wouldn't be so bad with Mikayla if Lilly had been around to put things into perspective. "Thank you, Lilly, that means a lot to me," she said, mustering as much sincerity to her tone and gaze as she could.

A tiny smile broke out on Lilly's face. "No problem." She sounded much more like her upbeat self.

"And the same goes for you," Miley continued quickly. This was the perfect time to form a concrete friendship with the other girl, and she wasn't going to waste it. "I know it's not the easiest thing having my brother as a friend, so I'm always here for you as well. _Always._ You can talk to me about anything." She looked at Lilly meaningfully. One day soon, Miley hoped the younger girl would tell her what was going on to make her look so exhausted all the time.

"Be careful, I might just take you up on that some time."

It was stated casually, but Miley had a feeling Lilly was being very serious. Usually when someone said something like that to _her_, she would respond in the same casual manner, even though she _knew_ she would need to take that person up on the offer eventually.

"I hope you do."

* * *

It was just after eleven that same night. Miley lay in her bed in the dark. She stared blankly at the ceiling listening to her iPod. Every night she would listen to music before she went to sleep as a tool to help her through some occasional insomnia.

Her mind was still on overdrive from several hours earlier. She couldn't stop thinking about the conversation she had with Lilly, or just Lilly herself. The girl was so amazing. Reflecting back, Miley realized that if she had had the same exact conversation with Sarah, it wouldn't have ended nearly as well as it had; no doubt, she would have gotten very upset with her best friend. However, there was something about Lilly that made her feel so calm. Even if she was hurting, it didn't seem to matter when Lilly was around. It was so entirely new to her.

Miley's pillow vibrated. After pressing the 'pause' button, she reached over her shoulder and grabbed her phone from next to her head. For one wild moment she thought it was Mikayla finally texting her back. When she checked the illuminated screen, however, it was Lilly who had texted her.

Bolting upright, Miley ripped open her phone, her heart thundering in her chest. This was the first time Lilly had ever texted her, even though they had finally exchanged numbers several months ago. She felt weak as she pressed the 'open' button on her phone. Miley couldn't fathom what Lilly would be texting her about this late.

_Thanks for keeping me company at Rico's today. I had a lot of fun :)_

Miley could feel her heart thumping in her throat now. She hastened to respond.

Her entire body was tingling from the sudden burst of excitement. She trembled slightly, even after she lied back down. It had been so long since she felt like this…


	4. Chapter 4

The loud beep of the alarm clock on the nightstand woke Miley up the next morning at the usual six thirty. It was still dark in her room even though her shades were completely open in the vain attempt to let some sunshine in to help wake her up. She found herself cursing daylight savings time as she slammed her hand down on the snooze button and rubbed her eyes tiredly, still mildly incoherent. Normally, she was a morning person, usually waking before her alarm even rang, but some days, like today, seemed to involve a little struggle.

The last remnants of her dream slowly slipped out of her mind as she lied there and tried to recall what had happened. All she could remember though was that it involved Lilly and Mikayla somehow. From the thin layer of sweat that clung to her body and the uncomfortable feeling between her legs, Miley wondered if it had been some kind of sex dream between the three of them, and chuckled at the idea.

"You wish, Miley," she muttered to herself, her voice hoarse from sleep.

Knowing she had a few minutes left on the snooze, Miley settled onto her back, the position she assumed when trying to wake herself up. She lifted her arm and slapped her hand down on her nightstand, blindly groping for her phone, wondering if anyone had texted her during the night. When she pressed the "OK" button, she saw that she had one missed call and one new voicemail. After rubbing her eyes again, she checked to see who called.

Miley bolted upright, fully awake, frantically flipping her phone open. Mikayla had called her not less than one hour ago and had left a voicemail. Heart pounding, Miley bit her bottom lip hard and rushed to push in her password.

"Hey, baby, it's me." It was definitely Mikayla. Her voice was very clear, and Miley clutched at her comforter, eager for more. "I was just calling to check in on you 'cause I know we haven't talked in a few days, which I'm really sorry about, by the way. I was in the middle of nowhere New Hampshire visiting my dad and I didn't get a single bar of reception out there so I just got all your texts and voicemails. I have my flight back in a couple of hours though and should be home sometime after you get out of school, if you want to do something I mean. Text me when you wake up or something. Love you, babe."

Miley listened to the voicemail once more. It was so good to finally hear Mikayla's voice again. A bubble of happiness exploded in the middle of her chest and she found herself grinning widely. Now it made sense why Mikayla had not gotten ahold of her these past few days; she had been visiting her father. Miley had gone with her once and had been irritated when she found her cell phone did not work where he lived.

However, Miley's grin faltered a moment later. Drawing her legs underneath her and running a hand through her tousled hair, she felt the first feelings of anger erode at her happiness. Why hadn't Mikayla told her she would be visiting her father? There would have been plenty of opportunity to before she actually arrived in a no-service zone. Why did Mikayla always disregard her feelings like that? Especially since she knew how insecure Miley was ever since they got back together.

After opening her phone back up, she set up a text to be sent to Mikayla. Miley sat and contemplated what she would say for a moment, and then started typing. She only hoped she would catch the other girl before she got on her flight. According to her clock, though, she had at least another hour.

"_Just got your vm. How come you didn't tell me you were going to your dad's?"_

Just as she hit the "send" button, the annoying sound of her alarm rang throughout her room again, signaling she did not have the time to stay in bed any longer. Climbing out of bed, Miley felt the usual cold chill of the hardwood beneath her feet. She went over to closet and grabbed the outfit she had picked out the night before off the doorknob. She went to the bathroom to get ready.

Twenty five minutes later, Miley emerged from the bathroom, completely ready to start her day. She made her way back to her bedroom to grab her phone and schoolbag. A text was waiting in her inbox for her.

"_Everything was really last minute. My phone died after I left your place Friday and I didn't get a chance to charge it before my mom took me to the airport. I'm sorry. Are you like totally mad at me?"_

It was difficult for Miley to quash her anger with the other girl. She was mostly irritated at the fact that Mikayla always had an explanation for everything; her excuses were never-ending. This was one time too many, however, and Miley found she could not control her anger enough to lie.

"_Yeah, not gonna lie, I'm pretty fuckin pissed."_

After hitting the send button, Miley made her way to the stairs. The smell of cooking bacon and eggs reached her nose and she smiled widely. Rushing down the stairs two at a time, she nearly tripped when she reached the bottom.

"Mom, what're you doing home so early?"

Susan was standing over the stove with a spatula in her hand as she cooked an enormous amount of eggs. The bacon sizzled in the pan next to it. She looked up when Miley stumbled into the room and smiled brightly. Miley bound straight toward Susan and wrapped her arms around the taller woman's shoulders.

"Hey, sweetie," Susan greeted. "I couldn't stand another night in that hotel so I drove through the night to get home." She shook her head as she reached out and smoothed a strand of hair off of Miley's face.

Miley smiled happily. "Oh, well, I'm glad you did 'cause I missed you. How was the conference?" She took a step back so Susan could continue cooking.

Susan had been in Sacramento for the past week attending a teachers' conference. She taught English at the nearby middle school. Miley had not expected her home until she got back from school later that afternoon so it was a nice surprise to find her home early.

"Nothing new, just the same old—Miley," Susan said sternly. The younger brunette's phone had vibrated in her pocket and she checked to see what it said while Susan was still talking. "You know, if you you're going to ask a question don't you think you should try listening to the answer?"

Miley's heart hammered in her chest, as it always seemed to do whenever Mikayla texted. She knew she was starting the fight herself this time, but the conversations she had with Sarah and Lilly the past couple of days left a strong impact. Much to her surprise, however, Mikayla did not bite back like she was expecting.

"_I'm sorry, there was nothing I could do. You know how my mom is, she wouldn't let me use the phone before I left."_

Susan repeated her name with a little more force. "Miley!"

"What?" Miley tore her eyes away from her phone and met her mother's stern expression. Realizing what she was doing she quickly apologized. "Oh, sorry, Mom. Mikayla's texting me, she's at the airport in Boston."

The second Mikayla's name was mentioned, Susan stiffened and a scowl immediately marred her features. She had disliked Mikayla ever since Miley had brought her home and introduced them. Her dislike had turned into something akin to hatred when Miley discovered Mikayla had cheated on her. She even tried to talk her out of getting back together with her, saying that there were plenty of other girls out there who would treat her much better.

"Mikayla's texting you?" came a voice from the living room.

Miley whirled around, her heart thumping wildly for an entirely different reason. Lilly was sitting on the couch, wearing her own scowl. Taking a few steps closer, the left side of Miley's mouth lifted into a toothless grin.

"Lilly? What are you doing here?" she asked happily, completely forgetting about Mikayla for the moment.

"I wanted to get a ride to school," she responded, her expression slipping into something unreadable.

Miley dropped onto the couch next to her. Upon a closer look she noticed just how tired Lilly looked. "You could have just called, you know. I would've picked you up on the way, I don't mind," she said softly. It looked as if only an extra few minutes of sleep would have gone a long way with her.

"Miley, I'm, like, one street over," Lilly said, the corners of her mouth twitching into a tiny smile.

"And you wanted breakfast." Miley nodded matter-of-factly.

Lilly shrugged. "Is that so out of character for me?"

"You are such a dork, you know that?" Miley said, a teasing smile on her face. Suddenly, she remembered that she still needed to text Mikayla back. A new argument sprung to her mind, too, as she opened her phone.

"_You could have used your dad's home line and you know it."_

Miley hit the send button hard, glaring at her phone. When she finally looked up, she found Lilly looking at her with concerned eyes. Her anger and irritation slipped away as she returned the blonde's gaze, and suddenly it felt like her body was on fire. Miley unconsciously wet her lips and tore her eyes away. The butterflies in her stomach were far too intense for her to handle. She remembered back before everything went downhill between her and Mikayla how the other girl used to make her feel the same way.

"So how's Mikayla doing?" Lilly asked, her voice a little more high pitched then usual.

Conscious of the fact that her mother was only feet away and could hear everything that was being said, Miley responded carefully. "She's doing good, I suppose," the brunette said, aware that she had no clue how her girlfriend was actually doing. "She's been in New Hampshire since Friday visiting her dad."

"Doesn't that girl have school?" Susan asked, still working behind the stove.

Miley rolled her eyes. Susan had the annoying habit as referring to Mikayla as "that girl," a habit that she used to find infuriating. However, after their breakup, she found it was easier to not hear the other girl's name mentioned, and of course, there was no talking Susan out of saying it now.

"She's home schooled, Mom, I've told you a million times," Miley said, right as her phone vibrated in her hand.

"_Can we just talk when I get home? I'm on the plane now. Luv you."_

Rolling her eyes again, Miley did not bother writing a reply. She snapped her phone closed and flung it onto the coffee table next to where Lilly's feet were resting. The concern in Lilly's eyes grew, and Miley shrugged sadly at her. Trust Mikayla to completely avoid a question she couldn't answer.

"Breakfast is ready, girls," Susan announced, putting the breakfast dishes at the table. "I'm going to go get your brother."

Miley and Lilly made their way over to the table; they sat in chairs across from each other. The brunette took only a couple of strips of bacon and a small scoop of scrambled eggs. Between what she was feeling about Mikayla, and the butterflies in her stomach that Lilly gave her, she was not sure how much breakfast she would be able to eat.

"So how are things really?" Lilly asked, her eyes on Miley as she blindly loaded her plate with a surprisingly little amount of food.

The older girl smiled to herself as she entertained the idea that Lilly might be suffering from the same tingling feelings she was.

Miley shrugged, not as upset as she thought she would be. Somehow, being with Lilly made her feel better. "I don't even know. She says she hasn't gotten ahold of me because there's no service at her dad's house, but that doesn't explain why she never called me on the home phone." She shook her head, frustrated. "Ugh, I don't even want to think about it. She's saying 'I love you' again. She hasn't said that to me in, like, two weeks, not since right after we got back together."

Lilly simply sat there, taking it all in. It took her a moment to respond. "Do you think she means it?"

Smiling humorlessly, Miley nodded. "In her own Mikayla way, yeah. But it's when she does things like that that make me second guess everything." She shoved a large bite of food into her mouth, as though that would help.

Just as Lilly opened her mouth to respond, Jackson came down the stairs followed by Robby Ray and Susan; they joined Miley and Lilly at the table.

For the rest of breakfast, it was easy to not think about her problems with Mikayla with Lilly sitting across from her. Miley knew she really liked her, and she knew that letting her feelings get carried away would be a very bad thing, especially if she wanted things to work out with Mikayla. Although, maybe using her feelings for Lilly could be useful in perhaps moving on from Mikayla...

* * *

A/N: I know it's been a while since I last updated, which I am sorry about, and I also apologize if there are any consistency errors. I was kinda just having my own fun when I decided to throw Miley's mother into the story. And no worries, in a chapter or two you're going to find out what's going on with Lilly. I just wanted to get all this Miley/Mikayla stuff out of the way first. The next chapter should be longer and it'll include an awkward Lilly/Miley/Mikayla scene. Hope you enjoyed!! And thanks to everyone who's reviewed in the past!


End file.
